YOUR VOICE for a LIFETIME

“YOUR VOICE” IS DESIGNED TO SOUND EXCELLENT FOR A LIFETIME

I
KNEW AT TEN

I begin this blog post with some random thoughts that have been rolling around in my head recently about “my voice.” You see, some people are born into this world with a specific life mission. They know, for certain, what they will do with their lifetime in their working career.

I was one of those very lucky people. Somehow, someway, at the tender age of ten, I knew my life would center around the use of “my voice” as an announcer/speaker/performer. I just knew I was bound to achieve greatness in my life, utilizing “my voice.”

Now, keep in mind, that at the age of ten, a boy’s voice still sounds very high. It was not until a few years later, at puberty, that “my voice” would change to my lower predetermined range. But that never mattered to me. I knew, innately, that I would someday be on the radio.

I loved listening to DJs
spinning their tales and their records on air.
I seized every opportunity to learn more about them and made it my job
to copy their sound. My father, a very
wise man, knew of my dreams. He
purchased my first portable tape recorder.
Thus began a ritual – spanning years – of spending evenings in my room
recording music off the radio and grabbing the microphone and recording my
voice after each record ended. I was the
announcer and I talked about that music, I read those commercials from the
newspaper, and I worked on my delivery.

MY
VOICE WOULD BE MY CAREER

It has been a long, hard,
and successful journey for me. You may
never have heard one of my radio shows, or my TV work, or listened to my voice-acting
skills in commercials and narrations. But
they were out there, locally and nationally, and I achieved my goals. Later, I performed as a standup comic for 15
years and later still as a university professor teaching voice, speech, and broadcasting
courses. But all of my dreams were
dependent on one very important ingredient…
“my voice.”

image courtesy of Pixabay

I was determined that “my
voice” must stay as clean, clear, and resonant as it sounded when I was young,
until the day I celebrate my 80th birthday and even beyond. That meant…no smoking ever, for me. I made sure I avoided catching colds or
viruses that would diminish “my voice.” I
knew that overworking “my voice” would have a negative impact and I even
stopped talking, when necessary, to rest it.
These and other techniques I learned have helped me maintain my
excellent sound. I have a long way to go
before birthday number 80. So far, so good. “My voice” still sounds strong, dependable,
and steady.

I
WANT THE SAME HEALTH FOR YOU

Why would I bring this
up? I want to share with you my experiences on maintaining excellent
vocal health throughout your life and give you the means to make it happen.

If you’re older and
you’ve noticed your voice doesn’t sound quite like it used to, it’s probably
not your imagination. It’s
called presbyphonia. Thanks to
natural changes within the larynx or voice box that occur as part of the aging
process, your voice can take quite a different character as you get older.

THE
AGING VOICE

While many adults
preserve their youthful voice into older age, there are some common changes you
might notice:

picture courtesy of pixabay

1. “Your voice” sounds thinner. The scientific term for this is vocal
asthenia, and it describes a less rich, less resonant sound that is a
common complaint among older adults. As
the multi-layered vocal cords or folds within the larynx suffer muscle loss
over time, they often become thinner and less pliable. Because they’re not vibrating as effectively,
the resulting voice doesn’t have the “oomph” it used to deliver.

2. “Your voice” sounds rougher. Imagine your larynx as a musical wind
instrument. It requires effective
vibration for a beautiful clear sound, and anything that interferes with the
necessary closure of the vocal folds together will erode the quality of the
sound you produce. As vocal cords get stiffer
with age, along with other insults to the larynx like reflux or smoking,
they may become bowed and curve inward rather than vibrating tightly together. The net result can be a scratchy, hoarse
voice.

3. “Your voice” is less loud. Aging affects projection and volume of
the voice as well. In addition, while
many older adults exercise regularly and maintain strong lung capacity, those
with compromised respiratory systems may find their voices are quieter because
they simply don’t have the breath support to maintain their former force and
volume.

4. “Your voice” pitch changes. A woman’s pitch typically drops over
time, whereas a man’s pitch actually rises slightly with age. “We don’t know exactly why this occurs. Like other vocal shifts, changes in pitch may
also be due to atrophy of the muscles in the vocal folds, and in women, it may
be thanks in part to hormonal changes leading up to and past menopause.

5. “Your voice” has vocal
fatigue. If your voice starts strong
but fades throughout the day, vocal fatigue may be to blame. Like any fatigue, fatigue of the voice is
use-related. If your voice gets tired,
it tends to feel worse in the evening compared with earlier in the day. That’s when people feel it; dinner is usually
a more social meal and having to push your voice to be heard can leave you
feeling tired and isolated.”

AND
WHAT YOURVOICEPROFESSOR HAS TO SAY

So, what is the “fix” to
make sure “your voice” stays strong, no matter what your age? Practicing so-called good “vocal hygiene” will
help you to preserve “your voice.”

Always drink plenty of
water, avoid screaming and yelling, and avoid smoking. Don’t abuse your voice, especially when it’s
compromised, such as during a cold or flu when your vocal cords are already
swollen. If you’re hoarse for more than
two weeks – especially without a trigger like a cold
or flu or if you are a long-time smoker – seek out the advice of your doctor
since you may be at risk of a more serious problem like vocal cord nodules
or even laryngeal cancer. More minor
issues like fatigue and diminished loudness can be improved through voice
therapy, in which a speech specialist can help you use your voice more
effectively and with less effort.

If you still have some
dream chasing to do, learning how to use and keep your voice at its optimum
sound throughout your life, will be crucial to your success. Take the time to train, care, and feed “your
voice” properly. YourVoiceProfessor can
help. Each student that takes any of our
5 courses:

first studies and learns about that vital topic of “Vocal Health.” YourVoiceProfessor can help make sure “your voice” remains strong. If you take good care of “your voice,” it will take good care of you…for a lifetime.